The “Lose Ten Pounds” Yoga Pose

As I began teaching a yoga class I asked the students what they’d like to do today. One woman spoke up, “I want to lose ten pounds!” Okaaay …

While there are poses to aid in digestion when we overeat and poses to get us in touch with our body’s needs and sensations, this would require a pose of a different sort. This would require us to reposition our self to our Self, to align our mind, body and spirit with our Soul.

First, let’s look at a basic premise of yoga that states that we are already perfect as we are; we carry all our wisdom within us; and our higher self knows best what we need right now.

Then we have to look at why losing ten pounds matters. Is it the need to fit into that little black dress for our class reunion? Is it the connection we make between our weight and our self-worth? Or is it wanting more vitality and creativity, and recognizing that ten pounds is in our way?

Why we want it determines how to best go about getting it. While our subconscious mind drives us on autopilot and determines many, if not most, of our behaviors, knowing what these drivers are is critical to changing the behaviors that sabotage our efforts.

When our ego is motivated to lose ten pounds, we can externally alter our behaviors to be successful, but this often creates an internal struggle along the way resulting in the all too familiar weight re-gain.

When our higher self is inspired to lose that weight, we will naturally align our actions with our intentions, and behaviors that are not consistent with weight loss subconsciously slip away.

Illusions, delusions, and confusions all contribute to why we are holding on to those ten pounds. For example, if we say we want to lose ten pounds in order to live a long and healthy life but our reality is that we don’t hold “healthy” as a core value, then the weight loss will be difficult.

Or, if the possibility of being that thinner version of us is scary because of how it might threaten our status quo, then relinquishing the weight that makes us feel safe, if not happy, may not be what we truly want right now.

Exploring how our deepest desires form our intentions expands our conscious awareness of what drives us. Observing how these intentions then determine our actions further expands that awareness. Connecting these dots to how things turn out for us reveals the whole karmic cycle for us to modify not just our actions, but our intentions and desires as well.

While it’s okay for our ego to need to look better, it’s when you understand on a Soul level how freely you were meant to travel through life that excess weight dissolves. Maybe what matters more than losing ten pounds is the deeper alignment of our mind, body and spirit with our Soul.